I have an incredibly simple {and inexpensive} project to share with you today. It doesn’t get much easier than a cut piece of wood, dowel and twine to create a perfect photo frame / note holder. Just tuck in a wallet size photo and/or love note and you have a quick personalized gift for Father’s Day or that special teacher at the end of the year.

Begin by cutting the 1 X 4 into 6 inch long blocks. Any size lumber can be used – I simply used scraps that I had left from another project. The size of lumber you choose should depend on what size frame you are looking to create.

Using a hand sander, sand the wood and round the edges a bit if you’d like.

Cut the wooden dowel rod into 4 1/4 inch pieces. Measure the diameter of the wooden dowel and drill a hole using the same size drill bit. The hole should be centered and approximately one inch from the bottom. Drill about 3/4 of the way through the wood making sure not to drill all the way through to the other side.

Glue the dowel into place using a tiny bit of Gorilla Wood Glue. You may need to tap the dowel into place using a hammer – as it should be a pretty snug fit.

Give the wood a base coat of paint. I used DecoArt’s Americana White Wash

To create a design using a vinyl stencil – cut a piece of vinyl large enough to cover the front of the wood block. I used my Silhouette machine and three shapes from the online store:{geometric_background_med_1954} {houndstooth_square_lg_1297} and {chevron_pattern_C00192_24282}

Adhere the vinyl to the front of the wood block and add a second coat of paint using a contrasting color. I used DecoArt Stencil Paint in Mississippi Mud.

Once dry, removed the vinyl and distress for a worn look {optional}.

To create the holder cut a piece of twine and staple one end to the back of the frame. Tightly wrap the twine around the wood, approximately 1 1/2 inches up from the bottom, several times and secure with another staple to hold into place.

These are perfect for the mass amount of wallets I receive through out the year of my nieces and nephews…there is always a new school picture, sport’s team picture, or family photo coming my way.

The wrapped twine makes it easy to slide in photos and quickly change them out when need be.

I made a set for my desk as well to fashionably display my many to-do lists…at least it makes them pretty to look at, right?

Happy Monday! Hope you have a fabulous start on the week ahead ~ Enjoy!

These are so fun! I love the patterns that you chose and especially that you used 2×4’s to make them! Your photo blocks will be featured as one of my fabulous finds, thanks for the great idea Stephanie Lynn. 🙂

I love these! And, I love the patterns and colors that you used…I’m definitely going to make a few of them as I, too, receive alot of wallet-sized pictures of my niece and nephew. Thank you for the great idea! Lesa

This is such a great idea, I just finished making some for teacher gifts. I plan on making them for other gifts also 🙂 I didn’t use a stencil, but painted and distressed the wood and used ribbon. I posted on my blog and linked back to you- gotta give you proper credit and kudos!!! If you want to check mine out, here’s the link to my blog: http://craftykat-mycraftyplayground.blogspot.com/ Thanks again for a great idea, I appreciate all the fun project ideas 🙂

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